


You Inspire Me

by odangoatama



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 10:06:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16060874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/odangoatama/pseuds/odangoatama
Summary: entries for InspiredbyOQ week on twitter.





	1. say a prayer (but let the good times roll)

**Author's Note:**

> the good place au, based on a manip by starscythe.

Not that Regina truly ever gave it much thought, but heaven’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

A little buzzed, she mindlessly swirls the olive in her drink around as she avoids making eye contact with anyone in her immediate vicinity. It’s her fourth drink, and it’s just as weak as the last three have been. She has half a mind to ask the cute bartender she’s been eyeing for most of the night to stop being so stingy with the vodka, appearances be damned.

Downing the rest of her drink, she plops the glass back on the counter with more force than necessary, and moves off her barstool. But the second her feet hit the floor, she’s hit with a wave of dizziness, the light buzz she’d been feeling suddenly a ten times stronger. It seems those drinks packed a bigger punch than she thought.

“Are you alright, m’lady?” 

Regina turns to see the cute bartender right on the other side of the counter, a small little smirk on his face. “The drinks are stronger than they seem,” he tells her, his voice slightly apologetic. “The upside is no nasty hangovers the next morning, however.”

Oh, well. At least there’s that.

After regaining her balance, she perches herself back on her stool. “Drink of the Gods?” Her nose scrunches up, and she stops herself from rolling her eyes at her own bad joke. 

The bartender smiles, and extends a hand. “Robin,” he introduces himself as she gives him her gloved hand to shake. “I’m your next door neighbor. I would’ve introduced myself earlier this week, but apparently you’ve been busy getting the grand tour.”

The breath Regina lets out sounds more like a huff, but she works to keep the rest of her frustration in check. 

It’s been three days since she died. Or so the ugly bird calendar in her too-small kitchen says. Time drags here, and she’s not sure if it’s because of how much she despises it here or if it’s just another “perk” of afterlife in the good place.

She knows she doesn’t really have a right to complain. After all, this place actually would be her own personal slice of heaven. If she really was the person these people thought she was, that is.

Regina bites back another frustrated sigh. She doesn’t belong here, and if that hadn’t become glaringly obvious in the past three days, it most certainly has tonight. A party thrown to celebrate her and the other newly arrived people to the good place, and she’s spent most of the night avoiding the all too sweet demeanors of the townsfolk, avoiding her supposed soulmate, and drowning her sorrows in much-too sugary cocktails as she contemplates coming clean about her identity. If only to relieve the pressure of trying to live up to someone she most certainly is not.  
Robin places another drink in front of her. “Something on your mind, m’lady?”

“Regina,” she supplies, belatedly realizing she hadn’t given him her name. She takes a sip of her drink, relishing in the stronger buzz she’s feeling, magnified when she looks into the bright blue eyes of her bartender. 

“I hate my house,” she blurts. The anxiety of revealing too much isn’t as strong, muted by her buzz, and the upward quirk of Robin’s lips helps settle her nerves. 

With another quick sip of her drink, she takes a deep breath and unloads her worries.


	2. starry eyes (sparking up my darkest night)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 5 - based on a doodle by outlawqueenbey.

To Robin’s surprise, Regina’s a cuddly sleeper.

He doesn’t mind it — quite the opposite most of the time — but it’s new to him. Marian was a restless sleeper, and though she certainly didn’t mind spending some time in his embrace before bed, she much preferred her own space once it came time to go to sleep. 

Robin never spared it much thought; and as it is, it took him a while to really notice the difference with Regina. During those first few weeks since he’d permanently moved in, she’d cling to him in their bed, and he’d hold her just as fiercely. It was a much-needed comfort for them both, after long months of separations and going home to empty beds. 

The need for that physical reassurance was persistent, and he’d find himself reaching for her at many different points of the day, even just to hold her hand. Regina welcomed his touch easily, and Robin had no doubt that it comforted her just as much as it did him.

But things have settled in the best way since then, and so have his nerves. And if the change in Regina’s demeanor is any indication, Robin would wager she’s far more at ease as well. Not as paranoid that fate’s waiting in the shadows, ready to throw them yet another curveball. 

But though they’re no longer as clingy with each other, when it’s time to turn in for the night Regina still wastes little time settling in against his chest — and she doesn’t tend to stray throughout the night. It’s a change he’s already grown used to the last few months, regularly going to sleep in someone’s embrace. But it’s still an unexpected discovery once he realizes the habit is the intended norm for Regina.

Unexpected, but not unwelcome.

Tonight Robin’s late getting home. A night out with his men and a few rounds of drinks disrupt their nightly ritual of falling asleep wrapped around each other, and when he finally finds his way to their bedroom he finds her fast asleep.

He’s a little buzzed, but he tries his best to be silent as he changes out of his clothes and settles in under the covers. Regina doesn’t stir, and he doesn’t reach for her, not wanting to risk disrupting her sleep. Lying flat on his back, it takes a moment for sleep to claim him as his body settles down. 

He’s finally starting to doze, his thoughts growing fuzzy with the haze of sleepiness when he feels the silky fabric of Regina’s pajamas brush up against his forearm. He cracks an eye open to see her back settling against his arm, her movements heavy with sleep. Warmth fills him at the action, and he smiles as he turns onto his side to spoon her properly. He catches a small smile of her own as he drops a kiss onto her cheek, and then he rests his head on his pillow, letting sleep finally claim him in full.


End file.
